Never Say Goodbye
by SydFord1012
Summary: "She'll never say goodbye" Al and Ed hasn't seen their childhood friend since they left, but when a girl marches into Roy Mustang's office saying she's his daughter, will old feelings surface back for Al? Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.
1. Prologue

There is a girl, she's running towards us.

Brother and I had just burned our house down, we were leaving for awhile so brother would join the state alchemists, we hadn't seen her since we attempted to bring mother back, and she was waiting with Winry when we got to granny's house that night. I didn't want her to see me like this.

She's caught up with us now, she grabs both of our arms, but brother could feel it because it was his good arm, how I envy him, how could I feel it? I'm just a suit of armor. She tries to catch her breath, she had ran all the way from Granny's house to catch up with us, she had her gloves on, those familiar gloves, wasn't the state alchemist who came wearing gloves like those? Except hers are black and the transmutation circle was bright red. She pulls her hands back and smiles, she has the best smile, and she says 4 words, the best words.

She says. "I won't say goodbye." And then walks away, I look at brother, he has a sad smile, he has to say goodbye to his childhood friend, but not if she won't say goodbye, she'll never say goodbye.

I don't want it to end like this. I don't want it to end at all.


	2. Gloves

**Sorry it's a little long, but here is Chapter 1 "Gloves" hope you enjoy :)**

"Where are we going now, Brother?" Alphonse asked. They were walking down the street of Central City.

"We're going to see Colonel Mustang. He said he needed to see us." Edward walked with his hands behind his head.

It had been a few years since that time, the last time they saw _her_. "What does he want?" Edward looked up at his younger brother who was nothing more than a shell of armor.

"Don't know. He just called and said he needed us for something."

"Oh." Al was walking silently for a while; he wondered what they were called in for, maybe colonel Mustang was going to send them on some mission. Suddenly, Al thought he saw a familiar object in the corner of his eye, something black and red, something with a familiar transmutation circle, the one colonel Mustang has on his gloves. Al only saw it for a minute, before the green cloak disappeared in an alley. He wanted to follow it but he couldn't just leave Ed.

"Welcome, Elric Brothers." Colonel Mustang greeted them when they entered the room, he was as straight faced as usual, he told them about a new mission, so my guess was right, thought Al. "You'll have to be careful on this one, Franz doesn't particularly like people." He said that they needed to wait a few days before heading out, because Franz, the man they were going to see, was going to be out of town for a few more days.

"So what are we supposed to do until then?" Ed asked.

"Wait." Colonel Mustang said shortly. Then, Riza walked in.

"Colonel Mustang, apparently some girl is here to see you." Riza turns around to the door and says. "Come in" after colonel gave her a nod.

A slender figure walked through the door, she was short and looked about the same age as Al and Ed, she had messy, raven black hair that was let down on her shoulders her light grey eyes had flames in them, and she wore a dark green cloak, she had a blue shirt on and black shorts and black lace up boots that went mid calf. She seemed so familiar, Ed couldn't place her, but Al could. He recognized that hair, and those eyes, but especially her gloves, those odd gloves that seemed like colonel Mustangs yet different, those gloves that were oversized when they were children but now fit her so perfectly. And that fiery look in her eyes hadn't changed. She didn't say goodbye, and now she wouldn't say hello.

The new girl stared straight at colonel Mustang; she disregarded anyone else in the room. "You're Colonel Mustang, no?" she said in a crystal clear voice,

Her voice is what made Ed recognize her, which was the voice that scolded them for years, the voice of their friend, their fellow student, and their fellow orphan, well, orphan as far as they knew. She hadn't known her father, hadn't even seen him before now.

"I am Colonel Roy Mustang, who are you?" Mustang sat at his desk with his hands folded in front of his face.

"I am Alice Jane Green. Do you recognize that name?" she eyed him carefully.

He stood with his usual face, no recognition whatsoever, and then his eyes widened. "Green?" he asked. "Your last name is Green?"

"Yes, my mother's name was Karen Green." She smiled ever so slightly. Mustang almost fell out of his seat when he rushed over to her.

"Who are you?" she's the right age, he thought, could she be?

"Your daughter." She said calmly with his hands gripping her arms. Now it was everyone else's turn to be surprised.

"What?" Riza's eyes fell on Roy. "What did she say?" there was venom in her words.

Roy felt everyone's eyes on him. Why did she say that? He thought. Karen was in the past, she was his ex but why did she keep this from him?

"How is that possible?" Ed said exasperated. "A.J. what do you mean?"

"Exactly what I said, Ed." She said without taking her eyes off of Roy.

"You know each other?" Roy looked angrily at Ed.

"You can say that." Ed looked away and scratched the back of his neck.

"We're childhood friends." Al stepped in.

"Did you not recognize us?" Ed asked her.

"Of course I did silly!" she looked over at Ed and smiled sweetly. "I just wanted to get that out before we had our big reunion." She looked at Al and smiled again. "Nice to see you, Alphonse"

Al would have blushed, had he could have. "N-Nice to see you again too, A.J."

"Colonel Mustang, how old are you?" Riza glared at him.

"T-Twenty-nine." He stuttered as he met Riza's glare.

"You?" she looked at Alice.

"Fourteen." She replied coldly.

"So that means you had her at fifteen?" she said exasperated.

"Mom was fifteen too." Alice said to Roy.

"I know." He looked down and released her from his grip. "I know, she…well…she was my first girlfriend."

"You got your first girlfriend pregnant?" Riza screamed. "At fifteen?" she was shocked to find out about his past.

Alice ran up to Ed and hugged him tightly, then ran to Al and hugged him."I missed you guys!" she said as she let go of Al.

"We missed you too." Ed smiled at her.

"Oh, have you seen Winry recently?" she asked.

"A few weeks ago, why?" Ed inquired.

"I haven't seen her in years!" she exclaimed. She jumped around asking questions like, did she seem more mature, what Winry was doing, if Winry had mentioned her, what they had been doing these past few years.

They paused at the last question, what had they been doing? Looking for the philosopher stone, trying to avoid Lust and the others, doing missions, stuff with Scar, but what else? Ed simply answered. "Not much, things for the State Alchemists."

Riza was bombarding Colonel Mustang with questions. "So who is that?" Alice asked.

"First lieutenant Hawkeye." Al replied.

"Is she dating Roy Mustang?" she asked with an eyebrow raised.

"No!" She heard Riza and Roy yelled from across the room.

"I was just asking!" she yelled back. She pouted and noticed Al looking at her. She tilted her head. "What's wrong Al?"

"No, it's nothing. I just noticed you haven't changed a whole lot." He would have grinnedhad he could have, but she heard his smile through his voice.

"Haven't changed?" she cried. "What part hasn't changed?"

"Well you look different, but your personality is the same." He smiled in his voice.

"So I have the personality of a child?" she cried.

"Walked into a minefield, Al." Ed muttered.

"I'm a child?" she curled up into a ball in the corner.

"No, I didn't mean it as an insult!" Al corrected. "I meant it as a complement; it's good to stay a child for as long as you can." Ed heard the tang of bitterness and sadly looked away; the sadness in his voice hadn't escaped Alice either.

"Al?" she said as she looked up. He still didn't want her to see him like this, he wanted to be able to feel it when she touched his arm, or notice when she accidently brushed up against him, that's really what motivated him to leave, to find a way to bring his body back. What was he thinking? He cursed himself. Those were thought's of so long ago, thought's of a child that's been long dead. But when he looked into her concerned face, he could almost feel his heart skip a beat, but he didn't have one.

"I'm sorry, Alice, Al, if my suffering has disrupted your little moment." They heard Roy shout from across the room. Lieutenant Hawkeye was unsatisfied by the answers she got so she started tormenting him.

"Do you think we should help him?" Ed asked.

Alice thought it over for a few grueling seconds to Roy. "Maybe…" she said airily.

Ed sighed. "Alright, Al come on, we should get going. See you later A.J." he said.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you now, it's not A.J. anymore, it's Alice." She said with a smirk.

"Whatever, A.J." her eyebrow twitched.

"Alice." She told him.

"Okay!" he exclaimed and rolled his eyes. "Let's go Al. Bye, A.J." he waved and walked out.

"Alice!" she screamed. Then she was left alone with Riza and Roy. She really didn't want to wait for Riza to get off of him so she decided to walk away and confront him tomorrow.

"Where do you think you're going?" Roy asked.

"You're obviously busy, so I thought I would come back later." She smiled.

"You don't just come in here, say you're my daughter and walk out!" he was angry.

"But like I said, you're busy." she waved goodbye.

"You-" he was about to start but stopped when he saw her gloves. Just like his. "Where did you get those gloves?" he asked with a low voice.

"Mom, she gave them to me, said they were made by my father." She eyed him. "They were his, but he gave them to mom to keep her safe, she then gave them to me when I was five."

His face became white, she really was his child. Her dark hair was like his, her eyes were lighter but still like his, and that smirk she was doing, is like the way he would smirk when he was a kid, that mischievous look she gave when she did it too, everything about her screamed him, but then there were some of Karen. Her cloak, that was Karen's if he wasn't mistaken, and her necklace, a silver chain that held a single key on the end, which was Karen's too, the way her nose was small and dainty, and her eyes held that fire, that was all Karen. But where was she?

"Where is Karen?" he asked and her eyes fell to the floor.

"Mom-"she swallowed hard. "Mom died, she died of an illness, same as Ed and Al's." she had a pained look on her face.

"I see." He said no more. What was there to say? How could he comfort his only child whom he's known for fifteen minutes? But still the question rose, why had his

Ex-girlfriend kept this secret? "How long ago?" he wanted to know how long she was able to keep this from him.

"Five years ago." She said without making eye contact.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. So nine years, Karen kept him in the dark for nine years. Although he felt sorry for the small girl in front of him, he couldn't help but feel a slight stab of anger when he thought about it Karen leaving him out of his own daughter's life for nine years.

"Don't be sorry!" she yelled, it startled him and Riza who had been standing behind them quietly. "Everyone says sorry like it can help, like it's their fault, but it's not!" tears started flowing down her face. "It's my fault!" she yelled louder this time. There's no telling how long she had lived with that on her chest, Alphonse and Edward both heard it, they weren't as far as she had thought, they had stopped behind the corner to listen in. Al saw his brother's knuckles turn white as he balled his hands into a fist.

"It's my fault." She said more quietly, she put her hands in front of her face to look at her mother's gloves. "It's all my fault, I didn't protect her," Ed clenched his teeth. "I didn't stay with her," Ed felt like he was about to explode. "I didn't say goodbye." Al balled his fists. Ed was remembering his own mother, something he didn't like to do a whole lot. Al wanted to comfort his brother, but he also wanted to calm down himself. Why was he so mad? To hear her cry like that, that wasn't what he ever wanted to hear.

Roy was immediately holding her, cradling her while she cried in his arms, as if she had been his child all her life, being held like a baby in the arms of her daddy. Roy felt his paternal instincts kick in as he let her cry into his chest, he lightly kissed the top of her head and whispered comforting words to her. Riza watched in awe, she had never seen him like that, a fatherly figure holding his daughter, she had to admit, she was moved.

"It's my fault. It's my fault." She whispered over and over again and held his uniform jacket, a father was not something she had ever had, and a part of her wanted it like that, to stay still in time as if she could walk home and her mother would be there to welcome her, she knew she wasn't as strong as Ed and Al, she knew she could never leave everything, even the memories she shared with her late mother, never burn down her house and watch it fall, every memory, every laugh, every hug, gone. Burned into ash like it was nothing, she felt like nothing.

Roy tried his best to comfort her and she finally stopped crying, she still held his jacket in the hopes that he would never let go, she wanted to be still, stuck in the same moment over and over again, in her mother's arms but this was good, this was okay, her father's arms were just as good right? Granted, her father for fifteen minutes, but still, this was good.

"Are you okay?" he asked ready to let her go, but she wasn't, she held tighter and wanted time to stop, man was she weak, wanting never to move forwards, never to forget her mother's voice, but time will do that, five years had been enough to diminish any hope, of course, hope was lost as soon as she saw Al in that armor, when she saw Ed bleeding out. That was enough; she never wanted to remember that, seeing her best friends find themselves in such a horrible mess. Never again will she have hope of her mother being alive and safe somewhere, never again will she wait idly by and watch as someone else do what she never had the courage to do.

"Yeah." She sniffed and forced her hands to let go. "I'm okay." She whispered as if she was trying to convince herself instead of him. "Sorry." She smiled sweetly as she tried to hide her pain; she had let it slip and vowed never to do that again.

But Roy could see her pain; he could see right through her, her tear streaked face revealed it all, her tears on his jacket, her paleness, it all was pointing to her broken heart, screaming that she was hurt, in pain beyond belief. No one could understand that, no one besides Al and Ed who watched their mother die just as she did.

"Al," Ed said in a low voice so he couldn't be heard by the pain ridden Alice. "Let's go." He didn't wait for an answer and started walking down the long corridor.

"Ah, Brother." Al held his hand out but it dropped to his side when Ed kept walking. He couldn't see his face, but Al assumed Ed was angry, he had experienced everything she had, he kept it inside just as she did, but the one thing he didn't do like her was the fact that he would take his anger out fighting, she had no one to fight with, no one. But now, she had Roy she had Al and Ed, and she knew that. She wasn't going to let that go. Not as long as she could breath.

Little did she know, she wasn't going to be breathing for much longer.


	3. Cupcakes

Alice was walking down the brick roads in Central City. She walked to a certain store called "The Shine." She walked in and it was filled with silk and cotton, spices and foods, toy and clothes. Everything she saw made her gaze in amazement, as she looked through the clothes.

She didn't have a whole lot of clothes with her, and she planned on staying for a while so she needed more. Roy had offered her money but she declined, she didn't want any money from him, she had saved enough to buy a reasonable enough good quality clothes, she had done jobs ranging from babysitting to bodyguard, she had even worked in a bakery, she had always loved to bake.

"Is this all?" the employee asked as Alice put the clothes on the table.

She nodded and left with half of the money she had walked in there with. She thought it was a pretty good day, she would meet Ed and Al later, she would search for some sort of living arrangement, and she would have dinner with Roy to talk about what would happen. Luck was going her way. She smiled as she breathed in the morning air, she had gotten up early this morning to eat breakfast, shop for necessities and at lunch, she would meet the Elric brothers at a restaurant.

"Alice," she heard a voice ring out, bringing her out of her thoughts to realize she had walked into a familiar suit of armor. "Watch where you're going," Ed sighed. "Someday you're going to walk straight into traffic."

"How motivating." She said as she glared at him. She looked up at Al; he had always been nicer than his older brother. "Alphonse." She smiled a smile of acknowledgement.

"Hey, A.J." she smirked out of annoyance.

"Alice." She stated.

"Oh, Alice, sorry." He rubbed the back of his neck. "What are those?" he pointed to her bags.

"Clothes, I figured if I was staying here for awhile, I'd need more, right?" she looked down at her clothes and wondered if she had made the right choice on a few of them. She picked up the mint green blouse she had bought. "Do you think this would suit me?" she held it in front of her and Al looked at his Brother.

"Maybe," Ed said indifferently.

"I think it would suit you." AL said. She had to admit, AL was a whole lot nicer than Ed was.

"Thank you Al." she smiled as she put the green puffy shirt back into the bags, everything else she was pretty sure was okay.

"It's almost lunch, isn't it?" Ed looked at his pocket watch.

"Is that a state alchemist watch?" Alice looked at it.

"Yeah, youngest state alchemist to ever join." He smiled proudly.

"Hmm, I wonder if I'll get one." She said thoughtfully.

"Probably not, you may have the advantage of being family to the Colonel, but besides wearing those gloves, what do you know about alchemy." He smirked.

"I studied a lot while you were away, and when I was little, and I got these," She held up her gloved hand. "I studied fire alchemy and I think I got pretty good at it." She said. Ed's hurtful word hadn't fazed her. "And I think I might have a chance to pass the test, and it doesn't have anything to do with my being related to Roy."

"Roy? So you're not going to call him Father?" Ed laughed.

"I only just met him, maybe someday I'll call him dad, but not now, I'm not ready yet." Her face turned grim, Ed stopped laughing, and looked down at the ground.

"Well let's go get something to eat." Al, wanting to break the awkward silence, decided to remind Ed and Alice of their growling stomachs.

"You're right, Al." Ed said calmly, he put his hands at the back of his head again.

"Where are we going to eat?" Alice asked when she heard what they were talking about.

"Maybe that place over there?" Ed pointed to a quaint little restaurant. He obviously just didn't want to walk anymore.

"Sure." She said.

They all walked over to it and sat down. She ordered a practical meal while Ed ordered something huge and grand, Al, of course, ordered nothing.

Afterwards, they walked together for a little while and talked mostly about the state alchemists, Al occasionally chipping into the conversation, but his mind was wondering elsewhere. So she studied alchemy after we left? He thought. He had remembered her talking about fire alchemy, but she had talked about it so briefly, Ed had completely forgotten, and it had been pushed to the back of Al's mind. He never would have thought she took it seriously.

"So, are you planning on going to pay Winry and Granny a visit?" Ed asked.

"Maybe, but I'd rather settle in here first. It is a long trip from here to there." She said as she sipped her beverage.

"Then, maybe we'll go with you." He said lightly.

"But didn't you just go a few weeks ago?" she asked.

"Yeah, but I feel my automail getting a little weak, I wonder if she didn't assemble it right." He said as he moved his metal arm.

"He just wants to see Winry again." Al stated

"Of course not!" Ed yelled. People's heads started turning to see the noisy group.

"But you were able to fight perfectly with such a weak arm?" Al asked with a smirk hidden in his voice.

"But…I just…" Ed had been beaten by his younger brother, and Alice couldn't help but laugh. "What are you laughing at?" he said angrily. He was embarrassed, and started blushing.

"You're just hilarious." She said between laughs. "I miss this." She looked at her lap and thought about all the times they had made her laugh.

They both looked at her. They could guess what she was thinking, as her thoughts drifted off to when her mother died. She hadn't seen them for a while, but they came to her mother's funeral. They had managed to make her smile even though her heart was breaking. They managed to make her laugh even if she was crying. No. she thought. It wasn't them, it was mostly Al. Al could always sense her sadness, her uneasiness, he would involve Ed to make things funnier, but it started with him.

* * *

It was probably eight years ago, she had been picked on by some kids that lived across from her. They had told her that she was ugly and stupid, normal teasing, but she was only six, to her it was hurtful, it made her cry her little heart out, and at some point the teasing became worse. It became, throwing rocks and calling her names, hitting her and stealing from her. She remembers, by a river, the five kids that lived across from her had come down to fish, only to find her skipping stones. They went over and scared her, she was only a timid girl, they called her names and pulled her hair, they started throwing rocks and one hit her head and it began bleeding. They went over and stated kicking her, but she wouldn't cry, so they kicked her more. She remembers shutting her eyes and hoping they would stop, and they did, when she opened them again, she saw the back of Ed's head, he had stopped them. But when she looked up, she saw Al, smiling down at her. Then it all went black. The kids never bothered her again, what had happened to make them stop, why did they even start? Those questions had floated around her head. But now she was fourteen, she had forgotten about those five kids, but she hadn't forgotten that day, when Ed and Al saved her. She remembers waking up to her house, a bandage on her head and Al asleep in a chair by the door, Ed coming in to get him, and them both saying goodbye. Why had Al been asleep in that chair? He must have stayed to make sure she was alright. How sweet she thought.

"A.J." Her mother had called to her. "Go and give this to Trisha, and tell her I said to give some to those boys." Karen Green handed her daughter a plate of cupcakes, those had always been her specialty. The smell of delicious chocolate and vanilla with strawberry icing wafted into the six year old girl's nose, her mouth watered but she managed to resist grabbing a chocolate cupcake, those were her favorite.

She walked up the road, cupcakes in hand. She struggled a bit because they were a little heavy, but she finally got to the Elric's house. She heard Trisha Elric talking to the young boys. A.J. Green peeked through the slightly open door, to see Ed and Al Elric grinning widely, holding what appeared to be wooden figurines, Trisha gasped and held them each.

"We made them for you, mom." The oldest brother said.

"They're beautiful." She said as she brought the two brothers into a hug. They heard the door creak when the weight of the plate became too much and A.J. fumbled, opening the door even more. "A.J." Trisha exclaimed. "Goodness, you carried that all the way from your house?" she asked and the shy girl nodded, Trisha took the plate of sweets away from her. "Wow, it's heavy! You must be incredibly strong." She smiled at A.J, who in return, beamed brightly.

"A.J. do you want to see what Brother and I made?" the seven year old Al asked politely.

She nodded once more. "Is it alchemy?" she asked. She had heard about alchemy from the two brothers.

"Yeah." Eight year old Ed chimed in.

"Oh." she remembered what her mother had said. "Misses Elric," she tugged at the woman's sleeve. "Mother said to give some to the boys." She said quietly. She had been around Trisha Elric before, but she was still shy around most adults.

"I see," she smiled. "Then Ed, Al, go wash up and fix us some plates." She said to the boys as they rushed to the sink to wash their hands and get plates.

"Come on Al!" Ed yelled when they rushed about. "The faster we go, the faster we get treats." His logic was sound, A.J. grinned.

She had noticed everyone in the room, but always, her gaze had landed on those wooden figurines of a bird, and the other a dog. She guessed the bird was from Ed, and the dog was from Al. she had seen Al's face light up a little when they saw her small figure walk through the door, Ed always was happy to see her, but was it strange that Al always seemed just a little happier then Ed? Maybe he like her more than Ed, that means Ed liked her less than Al, how pessimistic. Her thoughts had made her just a little more ad then when she was giggling, watching her two best friends scramble about.

When they got done, they put one cupcake on each plate, the rest were to be saved for later. A.J was offered milk to go with it. They spent a wonderful time, laughing and talking; A.J. told them about how her mother had taught her to cook, and how she had made a cake and it turned out pretty good, she talked about that proudly and Trisha clapped with joy. "Then maybe you'll be a chef when your older." She stated.

A.J. beamed brightly and nodded. "Maybe I'll own a bakery!" she exclaimed and threw her arms into the air. They laughed and when it started to get dark, she decided to leave.

"Ed, Al, you go with her so she won't be in any danger, it will be dark by the time she reaches her house." Trisha said as she helped A.J.'s coat on, it was oversized and she seemed adorable in her black and white striped stockings with a black skirt over it, her little black shirt barely showing with her big, hooded, grey coat on.

"But it's too cold out!" shouted Ed. "And besides, why can we walk home in the dark, but she can't?" he questioned.

"Because she is a young lady, and there will be two of you walking home, besides, I trust you can take better care of yourselves than she can." She started putting Al's coat on him.

"Okay, we'll walk her home, right Brother?" Al looked towards Ed.

"Sure you'll want too." Ed muttered under his breath, Only Al and Trisha could hear him because A.J. was waiting for their decision halfway to the road.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Al asked with a plain face, but his eyes were glaring at his older brother.

"Never mind." Ed sighed. They walked outside to see A.J. kicking a rock patiently. "Let's go, A.J." Ed said as he walked out to her.

"Okay." She started walking off, and then remembered. She ran up to Trisha and gave her a big hug. "Thank you for the cupcake." She said. And then looked down shyly and ran back to Ed and Al.

"I wish I had had a girl." Trisha said loud enough to where the boys could hear her.

"What?" Ed yelled back angrily.

"Edwina and Allison." She nodded to herself then laughed. Ed made a face of disgust and started down the road again. Al and A.J. waved and it hit Trisha, Al and A.J. she thought. They seemed so relaxed together. "My little boys are growing up." She said to herself. "Maybe someday, A.J. and Al will be together." Then she laughed. "Of course that may just be wishful thinking." She said as she walked back into the house.

* * *

"Bye." Ed said to Alice, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"Bye bye, Ed, Al." she waved and she couldn't help but feel nostalgic watching their backs walk down the street. The way they would walk back to their house. She realized on her way back that Al really hadn't said much, it was mostly Ed that had talked during lunch. "Strange." She said thoughtfully as she reached Roy Mustang's office. She hesitated before opening the doors. And what she saw surprised her.


	4. A Flame Alchemist

Alice walked into Roy Mustangs office, only to find Roy on the ground, unconscious, Riza in a huff, and someone she didn't recognize. He had black hair, glasses and seemed really happy go lucky. "Uh, Hello?" she walked into the room and all heads turned, except Roy, who was unconscious.

"Ah, Alice, I'm afraid Roy is a little busy right now." Riza apologized.

"What? So you're Alice Green?" The glasses guy ran up to her and shook her hand.

"Yes, that's me." She said, he seemed nice, maybe just a little too excitable.

"I still can't believe Roy had a daughter." He said hurriedly. "I mean, he always seemed so serious, in some way I'm a little glad he didn't raise you because you probably would have turned out like him." She could barely understand him.

"Shut up, Hughes." Roy choked out. He lifted his hand into the air as he lay on his back. "Alice, come here."

She slowly walked over to him. "What?" she said with no emotion.

His eyebrow twitched. "I'm dying, so I just want to say…" he paused. "Don't hang around the Elric brothers anymore, they're a bad influence." Then he died. She got up and the door, slamming it.

"Famous last words." Hughes laughed as he looked at Roy's limp body. "Come on, Hawkeye didn't hit you that hard!" he kicked the motionless body.

"Yes, she did." Roy curled up.

"Colonel Mustang, you have paperwork to do, so I suggest if you want to talk to your daughter today, you go out and apologize." Riza said with a sigh.

"Okay." He got up and started to the door. "Alice?" he looked both directions. He started walking down the hallways to find his daughter. "Alice, where did you go?" he called for her. Then he saw her standing, watching out the window with a dreamy smile on her face, he looked down to see what she had been looking at, only to see Edward and Alphonse waling into the building. When they were out of sight, she sighed and dropped down against the wall.

Roy had been sure to stay out of eyesight. She clutched her knees to her chest. "I know you're there Roy." She said without looking up. He slowly walked out, without saying a word he slumped down beside her. "I can't face them right now." She said.

"Why?"

"Because when I look at them, they always look happy, they've moved forwards but where am I?" she looked at him. "Still stuck in the same place I was years ago."

"That's not true." He said. He looked down at her. He could see the resemblance, he made her, and she was his little girl. "I didn't even know you existed years ago, so you didn't have me." He petted her head. "Now you do, you have someone you can talk to about anything." He tried to comfort her as best he could.

She looked at him with teary eyes. "Thank you." She closed her eyes and let a single tear escape.

After sitting there for awhile, they finally got up and went out. They went to some shops just to look; of course Roy knew he wasn't going to buy anything. Then, they went to a restaurant and ate dinner. When it started getting dark, they said their goodbyes and went separate ways.

The next morning, Alice walked through the streets once again. Right now she was staying in an inn she had found, and so she decided she wouldn't tell anyone where she lived until she got a place of her own. Her State Alchemist test was today, so she dressed in her new green shirt, and then slipped on some black shorts and combat boots, she knew she wouldn't be able to wear her mother's cloak, but she wanted to have her mother there somehow, so she wore her necklace with a key on the end. She had never found out what the key went to, it was a mystery Karen Green took to her grave, but maybe Roy knew? She kept her hair down because it was a hassle to put it up, but this was a special occasion, so she put it in a high pony tail, but some tendrils escaped, making it seem messy and unprofessional. This is why she wears her hair down. She looked at her watch, noticing that she was almost late, she had to run. So she forgot about her messy hair for now.

"Alice, you need to hurry!" Roy said to her when he saw her sprinting towards the building.

"I know!" she hurried past him and her black trench coat flew behind her, she threw open the doors and ran through the corridors, stopping and staggering a little, in front of the door. She glanced at her watch again, made it just on time. She panted and wiped her forehead.

"Miss Green." The Fuhrur acknowledged her and took note of her panting.

"I'm sorry, Fuhrur." She bowed. "I woke up late."

"It's fine." He waved his hand. "Now, let's see how you do."

She nodded and stepped into the middle of the room, she breathed in and out. She took her gloved hand and snapped it, causing an explosion by the door. Then her other hand snapped and made an explosion on the other side of the door. She then held her hands together and was suddenly surrounded by fire, but not burning. That's why she didn't want to wear her mother's cloak, this one was fire proof. She did some other cool things, fire seemed to surround the room, but by the end of it, Fuhrur Bradly was impressed. It seemed like the fire was out of controll, but upon closer examination, it was all under her controll, every flame, no matter how many, was kept back by her. That impressed him. And for her age, she was no doubt remarkable. Although she was young and reckless, she also seemed to have a strong sense of justice, and if necessary, she would be completely willing to train hard to become stronger. There was no doubt in his mind she deserved to be a State Alchemist.

* * *

"Yay!" Alice exclaimed as she walked down the side walk, Ed and Al had met her to see how she had done on the test, and Ed was completely dumbfounded when she shoved her new pocket watch in his face.

"I still don't know how you could have done that." He said. The two brothers walked on either side of her and Ed had his hands behind his head.

"I did my best!" she said. She still hadn't told them what she did; she wanted to see their faces when she fights in front of them, because apparently the Fuhrur had decided to have her go along with them on their next mission, but she hadn't told them that either.

"Congratulations, A.J." Al said. Alice had decided to let it go if her childhood friends called her that, but no one else should ever call her anything but Alice.

"Thank you, Al." she smiled at him, and then turned to glare at Ed. "See Ed? That's the normal response, why can't you be as nice as your younger brother?" she huffed.

"What?" Ed yelled. "I am nice!"

"Sure…" she said sarcastically. "So, what mission do you guys have coming up?" she started.

"Something about a guy named Franz." Ed waved it off.

"We're supposed to get on the train to see him tomorrow. He's a scientist and they said he was going to create a chimera, but then he suddenly changed his mind and ran away, it was only recently they found out where he had been hiding." Al explained.

"Ah, that seems like it's going to be interesting." They both looked at her. "Fuhrur Bradley told me to go and assist you." She smiled sweetly.

"What?" they both said in chorus.

* * *

 **Hey guys, sorry for the late update, I've been busy with other fanfictions. I know, lame excuse. but please stick with me and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Thank you viewers, please R &R and give me a few ideas for new chapters! P: Bye now!**


	5. Wishing Well

They were all on the train, all going to see Franz. Figure out if he was happy that Alice was going with them, or sad that she might be in danger at some point.

Ed and Alice were fighting about something; they always seemed to fight about something, anything really. But Al knew they were still friends, they would tease each other, or sometimes their fights would turn into a brawl.

"You took that cake, didn't you?" Alice asked.

"No, I'm sure you must have, you do like cakes, don't you?" Ed grinned.

Alice gasped. "You pig!"

"Idiot!"

"Shortstop!

"Flame brain!"

This went on for awhile, Al sighed. This train rise was long enough, and they already had to fight the conductor about letting Al into the carriages instead of with the livestock, why fight more?

"Enough!" Roy Mustang yelled, he had insisted that he came, along with Armstrong.

By this point Ed and Alice had started shoving each other off the seat. "Can't we stop?" Al raised his hands in surrender.

"That's it." Armstrong lifted Ed up with one arm and Alice up with the other, each by their hoods.

"Put me down!" Ed shouted and tried to wrestle out of Armstrong's grasp.

"You're bothering the other passengers." Ed and Alice looked over to see everyone giving them odd glances.

"So?" Alice was set down.

"So you need to control your temper, Shorty." Alice stuck out her tongue.

"What'd you say, A.J?" Ed had realized that when he called her by her childhood name, she would get really mad. And that's what she did, punched him square in the face.

Roy sighed, and then he grabbed his daughter and held her back as Al helped Ed up. "Lemme go!" she yelled and tried to wiggle out of Roy's grasp.

"Settle down!" he tightened his grip. "Just sit down and be quiet." He placed her on the same bench seat Al had sat down on. Then Armstrong placed Ed across from her.

"Hmph." She crossed her arms like a child and pouted. "Al, you think he was being stupid, right?" she turned her attention to the younger brother next to her.

"Uh…" he looked over to Ed, who was staring at him, waiting for an answer, and then Al looked back to Alice, whose grey eyes were wide and also waiting for an answer. "Umm…" he couldn't take sides.

"Alphonse?" she stared at him. "He was being stupid, right?"

"Yes?" he said more in the form of a question. Ed looked shocked and betrayed.

"Al how could you?" he screeched. "What about loyalty?"

Al just sat there in silence as Alice looked proudly at him, but then Ed's face twisted in a grin.

"What?" Al looked suspiciously at his older brother.

"Oh, nothing…" Ed shrugged but that grin didn't leave. "Just, you know, wouldn't want A.J. to know what you were wishing for…" he said innocently, but Al knew what Ed was saying.

"You wouldn't…"

"Oh wouldn't I?" Ed's grin grew.

Al sighed. "Fine, Ed wasn't being stupid." He couldn't risk it.

"What?" Alice looked surprised at Al and then glared at Ed. "What wish?" then realization spread across her face. "You mean when we were kids? I want to know what Al wished for."

"Nope." Ed shrugged; he had got what he wanted.

"Tell me!" she leaned forward in her seat.

"You know, it just slipped my mind…" he trailed off. "What was it again?" Al glared at Ed. "Oh, it was for a pony, right Al?"

Alice snickered. "You wished for a pony?"

Al sighed in relief. Ed had lied, thank God, and Alice believed him.

* * *

So let's go back to when they were children.

An old well always sat there, on top of the hill. No one owned it, it was never used, so four little children decided to make it into a wishing well.

Every year, they would meet up there, Winry Ed, Al, and A.J. they would all meet on the top of the hill with a single coin each, and wish for something they knew they would probably never have.

This year, Ed and Al were the first ones there, which was a miracle itself.

"What are you going to wish for, Ed?" Al asked him when they were standing beside the old well, waiting for Winry and A.J.

"I don't know, maybe for me to become the best alchemist ever!" he said with sparkling eyes.

Al just laughed. "Yeah, that's a good wish."

"Hey!" Winry waved at them as she ran up the hill. "You're the first? That's new."

"Shut up." Ed pouted.

They all stood there, looking down the stone well, into the water below. "I'm going to wish for Mommy and Daddy to come back safely." Winry smiled.

"I'm going to wish for-" Winry interrupted Ed.

"I know, you're going to wish for something about alchemy." She rolled her eyes. "What about you, Al?"

Al looked up at her and blushed. "N-Nothing."

"You're not going to wish for anything?" Winry raised an eyebrow. "Or something you don't want us to know?"

"It won't come true if I tell you." He mumbled.

"You've never believed that before, that's an excuse, Alphonse Elric, tell me what you're wishing for!" she grinned.

"I bet it has something to do with A.J." Ed grinned along.

"I bet it does too." Winry looked devious.

"I-It doesn't have anything to do with A.J." he squeezed his eyes shut. "I'm not wishing for anything."

"I don't believe that, you brought a coin for a reason." Ed pointed at the coin in Al's hand.

"What are you wishing for, Al?" Winry said more calmly.

"Is it for A.J. to like you?" Ed smiled at his little brother's blush.

"N-No…" he didn't sound believable.

Suddenly, a little girl's voice rang out. "Al, Ed, Winry!" A.J. yelled. "Sorry I'm late." She panted from running.

Winry looked between Al and A.J. "So, are you going to tell us what your wish is?" she asked Al, who immediately blushed again.

"I'm going to wish for us to be happy!" A.J. smiled, causing Al to calm down a bit and smile back.

"I'm going to wish for that too." He said. Ed and Winry laughed. Al was lying; he wasn't going to tell A.J. what he was really wishing for…

* * *

"Why would you wish for a pony?" Alice laughed. "And I guess that wishing well wasn't exactly the best." She looked down sadly. "Winry's parents didn't come home, Ed didn't become the best Alchemist," Ed glared at her. "And you never got that pony, such a disappointment." She shook her head.

"Yeah…" Al said quietly, while Ed looked at him sadly. "But what did you wish for the last time we did that? You wouldn't tell anyone." Al asked her.

Alice straightened and a blush crept up on her face. "N-Nothing!" she stuttered. "Why would you think I wished for anything?" she laughed nervously and made no sense. Ed's eyes widened and a happy smile found its way to his face.

"Oh, I see…" he looked like he was deep in thought. "You wished for a pony too, didn't you A.J?" he smiled, and only he knew what he was implying.

"No?" she raised an eyebrow. Al just looked at his brother suspiciously.

Ed hummed and looked out the window. "Looks like we're here."

* * *

 **Sorry it was a little short, and it's been like a month :( And so, you get a bit of a glimpse into Alice and Al's childhood. Do you like it? Hate it? please review and tell me what you think! Bye now.**


	6. Franz the Weak

They got off the train and took note the bustle of the small town before them. The train puffed steam and started off on its next journey, leaving the five alchemists in the town of Lilywhite.

"So what now?" Alice shrugged.

"We find Franz?" Ed shrugged also.

Roy sighed. "We know he's here, we'll have to ask around."

"Are you sure you were given permission to come on this mission?" Alice looked at him.

He waved it off. "It's fine."

"Excuse me Ma'am, do you know a Franz?" Armstrong asked a nearby woman with dark auburn hair, carrying a basket filled with different herbs.

"Yes," her face darkened. "Why would you want to see that man?"

"We're State Alchemists; we'd like to have a conversation with him."

"I hope he's in trouble." She muttered, but they caught her words. "He lives over there." She pointed to an old, worn down house that looked abandoned. "He won't open the door, except if some pretty girl knocks on It." she grimaced. "The pervert."

"Thank you." Armstrong said politely and gave her some money for her troubles.

"Well, A.J…" Ed trailed off.

Roy glared at him. "No." he said sternly.

"Well, who else? Al?" Ed looked at his brother; inwardly laughing at the thought of Al dressed as a girl in that armor. "She's the only girl here and that's the only way to get the guy to open his door."

They contemplated it.

"I'm fine with it." Alice looked at Roy for permission but he refused.

"No, absolutely not. You're not going to lure the guy out of his house like a piece of bait."

"Al, what's your opinion?" Armstrong looked at the suit of metal.

He hesitated. "Um…I don't like the idea…but it does seem the only way…"

Roy scoffed. "I'm the colonel here, and I'm saying no."

"Then let's find a better idea." Ed said bitterly.

Roy thought about it. "He'll have to answer the door to a State Alchemist."

"It would work better if the State Alchemist was a girl." He gestured towards Alice. "Besides, he can refuse."

Armstrong suddenly interrupted their bickering. "I believe the plan has already been set in motion." He pointed at the black haired girl who was slowly making her way up the road to the house.

Before they could get to her, she knocked on the door; they had to get out of sight.

"Who is it?" A gruff voice called angrily to the door.

"My name is Alice." She said sweetly, but inside she was screaming at the way she heard him start laughing.

The door opened to reveal a man a little older than Roy, his glasses showed glare from the light and it seemed as if he handed shaved or bathed in forever, his mousey brown hair was shaggy but the grease made it slimy and stick up in different places.

Everything in her told her to run and hide. She didn't like the way her was looking at her, and the way he was towering over her. She probably should have been more patient when Ed and Roy were arguing.

The guys were standing just out of sight, but close enough to see and hear their conversation. Al was fighting an inner battle to run up and try to intimidate the man, they all noticed his eyes that were locked onto the fourteen year old girl in front of him.

Ed was starting to see how this might be a bad idea. And Roy was so tightly wound; he was ready to pounce on Franz if he made the slightest move.

"Franz Anderson?" she looked up at him with cautious eyes.

"Yes, and you are?" he looked her up and down.

She inhaled sharply. "Alice Green." She shook his hand, but he had other ideas, pulling her gloved hand to his mouth. She hated it, the way his lips lingered on her hand, the way he looked at her like she was prey. No, she can't be scared; she's a State Alchemist now. She ignored the shiver down her spine when he lifted his head but didn't let go of her hand.

She didn't see Armstrong holding back the furious Roy Mustang.

"And to what do I owe this pleasure, Alice Green?" he asked.

"I'm a State Alchemist." His grin faltered. "I'm here to check on you."

"Ah." He looked down. "I was sure I covered my tracks." Then he eyed her. "How old are you?"

She gulped. "Fourteen." She said simply.

"And you're a State Alchemist?" he said with a scoff. "Little young, but I guess fourteen is mature in its own way…" he smirked at her and that chill went down her spine again.

"Let me go!" Roy said, but it was muffled by Ed's hand.

"We can't interfere right now." Armstrong said as he held Roy in a strong grip.

Al kept his eyes on the two, he wanted to go up there, she looked so uncomfortable, and he needed to be there.

"I need to ask you some questions." she looked at him, mustering up as much courage as she could.

"Yes, please come in." he moved aside and allowed her in. she looked in the old house, taking in the slight mess. She looked back at the road, searching for the rest, asking if it was okay.

Franz frowned. "Is there somebody else with you?"

"Umm, he's around the shops." She hesitated.

"He?" Franz mumbled.

"Yeah so…" she continued to look around for them, she caught a glimpse of metal behind a nearby house. Alphonse.

She made eye contact with the suit of armor right before she felt someone yanking her arm. Then the door shut, and there was nothing but darkness.

* * *

Alphonse watched Franz pull Alice into the old house. He jumped up before anyone could stop him and rushed to the door, Ed and Roy hot on his heels.

It was locked naturally, but it was old and rotted so it didn't take much to knock it down. As soon as they entered, they saw several strange creatures snarl at them. Franz had created chimeras, there were other animals too, ones that hadn't mutated or appeared to have been touched by alchemy.

It was hard to hear anything with the animals screeching in their ears, the chimeras inching closer, their body posture seemed as if they were stalking prey.

Roy and Armstrong started holding off the beasts while Ed and Al looked for Alice.

They could sort of make out the faint yelling of a human, but then it seemed as if there were more than one human, screaming for help. They both walked down the hallway, opening each door they came across. But one door, they opened and found something they were not prepared for, a woman who looked oddly familiar, huddled in a corner, her auburn hair covering her face. She looked up at them with empty eyes, but her face twisted in confusion when she saw them both standing there.

"Who are you?" she inched closer. "Have you come to save me?" she looked at them, the emptiness in her eyes being replaced with hope.

"Yeah…" Ed wasn't sure what to say to her, then he noticed a chain behind the girl, one end was attached to the concrete wall, the other was latched onto her ankle. "Did Franz do this to you?"

She looked down and nodded. "He's a monster…" she murmured.

"He has our friend," Al started. "Did you see him come by here?"

She hesitantly nodded. "Your friend, does she have black hair?" they both nodded. "He's taken her down the hall, probably to the basement. That's where he takes you first…" she trailed off with a horrified look on her face.

Ed looked at Al and went to unchain the girl. As soon as she was free, they rushed her to Roy and Armstrong, who had taken out the creatures, and went back down the hallway.

After awhile, they found a metal door, but what caught their eye was the pair of black gloves that had been tossed on the ground.

Ed's face twisted in anger. He knew that without her gloves, Alice was most likely defenseless.

Al picked up a glove as Ed tried to kick down the door, but it was no use.

"Damn it, Franz! Let me in!" He used alchemy but when the door burst open, all that was there was a dark pit, with stairs that seemed to go on forever.

"Alice!" Ed called, his voice echoing.

"You're not going to find her." The girl's voice came from above them. They looked at the top of the stars to see the auburn haired girl they had left with Roy and Armstrong, but her eyes were different, they were shining gold with slit pupils.

"What are you doing here?" Al asked, not paying attention to her change in appearance.

"Al." Ed warned. "He changed you, didn't he?" he asked the girl.

"I'm strong now…" she smiled. "All thanks to him, I can protect my sister now."

They realized why she looked familiar, the girl in the square that Armstrong had stopped, that was her sister.

"Do you think your sister would want this?" Ed looked at the girl, it wasn't just her eyes that changed, it was her skin too. With some scales here and there, she looked like a snake.

"You don't know." She shook her head, her smile never leaving her face. "Franz torments this village, he lets his mutations out at night, so many have died…and now…you will." She smirked and lunged at them. Ed blocked her sharp nails with his metal arm, but she tore through the fabric on his sleeve. "You're not normal." She frowned.

Ed grinned and held her wrist with his automail arm. "Nope." He dodged her scratch and held her other wrist. "Ed, go find Alice." He hadn't realized that he wasn't using her childhood name.

"You'll never find her!" the girl screamed. "She's gone; these stairs go forever if you're not Franz." She grinned manically.

"We'll find her." He smirked. "Or we'll have hell to pay." He thought about what might happen if they didn't, not only would they feel bad, but they'll inflict the wrath of Roy, Winry, and a lot of other people. He shuddered at the thought. "Now go Al!"

All nodded and rushed down the stairs, everything got darker and darker the further down he went, the only noise was the screaming of the poor girl with Ed, Franz had changed her for the worse, and for that, he had to pay.

He had to focus on the task at hand, finding Alice. He knew she could probably hold her own in a fight, but she wasn't as strong without her gloves.

"Alice?" Al wondered down the stairs, but one step was longer than the others, causing him to lose his balance and fall head first. He tumbled down the stairs with a loud clank every time he hit them, he started to think maybe the girl was right, maybe the stairs really do go on forever, but then his hand reached out and he managed to grab hold of something on the wall. That was odd considering the walls were straight concrete with nothing to hold onto.

He stopped himself from falling and got up to looked at it. It was so dark he couldn't see anything, but he pressed the wall and it somehow opened. A secret door!

That's why she had said that, only Franz knew how many steps he had to take before he reached the door, the stairs probably keep going for miles, taking twists and turns, and he would have kept going, probably lost forever, and the door was right here.

He opened it and saw the room was all grey; he heard the muffled talking and recognized one of the voices as Alice's.

He walked cautiously towards another door where he pinpointed the voices coming from. He grabbed the door handle and slowly turned it.

He gasped when he saw Alice standing there, eyes filled with pure rage, panting as if she had just got into a fight…oh.

There laid Franz, on the ground, moaning in pain while Alice stood above him looking with disgust.

"Alice!" Al went over and grabbed her arm. "What happened?"

She looked up at him in surprise. "Al?" she threw her arms around him and laughed happily.

"Are you okay?" he looked at her worriedly.

She nodded. "He's…not so much…" she looked down at the now unconscious Franz. "The jerk took my gloves, he really underestimated a state alchemist." She grinned.

Al was surprised; he didn't realize Alice would be able to take out Franz without using alchemy. "Let's get you back…" he picked up Franz with one arm, an upside to being just a suit of armor.

They walked carefully up the stairs, and then they saw Ed holding an unconscious girl.

"What happened?" Alice asked.

"We fought, but she passed out." He said simply and they started walking down the hallway.

"Alice!" Roy ran up and gave her a bear hug. "I was so worried, I thought something bad might have happened to you-" he kept babbling on and on while Alice looked at a smirking Ed and Al…well Al looked like he would be smirking.

"I'm fine." She pushed him off her and saw her bare hands. "My gloves! He took my gloves!" she started back but Ed stopped her. He lifted up a familiar black glove, but he only had one. "Where's the other?" then she saw Al holding up the other one. "Gimme." She swiped them before the brothers could protest.

"Well, we have Franz now, so…mission complete?" Ed looked at Roy hopefully.

"I guess so." Roy sighed. "Major, how many days did we have here?"

"A full week, Colonel."

"I guess we'll have to go back early then."

Ed and Alice pouted and gave Roy puppy dog eyes.

"Please can we stay?" Ed said.

"I've never been sightseeing." Alice looked at him.

Roy, unable to resist his newly found daughter's puppy dog eyes, gave in.

"We'll stay for three more days, but no longer."

"Plenty of time!" Alice shot out the door, followed by Ed and Al.

* * *

"Al, come look!" Alice dragged him across the road and to a food stall. "It smells amazing." She smiled.

"How many?" The lady at the stall asked, gesturing at the steaming rolls.

Alice thought about it, and then looked at Al sympathetically. "None for me thanks." She smiled and carried on.

"Why didn't you get any?" Al asked, he already knew the answer though.

"Because-" she looked down. "Because if you can't have any than I don't want any." She smiled warmly.

Al felt a little bad. "You should get some, I don't mind."

She shook her head with a determined face. "When you get your body back, then we can have all the rolls we want!" she gave a toothy grin.

Al looked down at his hands, only hollow armor. Then he looked back and saw Ed standing by the edge of the road.

"Ed!" Alice ran up to him.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" he put his hands behind his head.

"Looking at the stalls." She said. She looked over at the huge field that Ed had been looking at. "Wow!" she went to the edge of the road. Al noticed a huge cliff below her, where the road went off.

"Be careful Alice." He reached out but suddenly she slipped and fell. "Alice!" he shouted, Ed still stood there looking casual. "Brother, we have to help her?"

"Help who?" Ed looked at Al with a curious face.

"Help Alice!" he shouted, but then he noticed he was no longer taller than his brother, they were the same height.

"Alice?" Ed looked thoughtful. "Oh…" his face went grim "A.J.'s been long dead, Al."

"What?" Al looked down the cliff, only it wasn't there anymore, it was just emptiness as far as the eye could see, down the field filled with red Magnolias.

He looked down, only to see a stream flowing in front of him. He saw his relfection and it wasn't armor, it was his own face.

Alice jerked awake, what an odd dream.

* * *

 **Sorry it's been kinda long, I hope this makes up for it!**

 **Thanks to SpeakWhenItRains, Kit, and kingswoodch for your awesome reviews!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review, it really helps me with ideas and motivation!**


	7. Cursed Lands

"Go to hell, Ed!" Alice screamed as she raced down the pavement, leaving a certain alchemist roaring with laughter.

"Alice," Al called. "He didn't mean it."

"Yes he did, Al, and you know It." she stormed off, her and Ed had done nothing but argue and it was driving Roy up the wall.

"Enough!" Roy shouted, causing everyone to freeze. "We've only got two more days, let's spend them wisely instead of bickering like children." He sighed. Alice rolled her eyes at him. "Don't roll your eyes!"

Then something caught her eye, a large field, sort of like her dream, filled with rolling hills. "What's over there?" she pointed to the grassy area.

"You don't want to go in there, Missy." A middle-aged man told her.

"Why not?"

"Cursed Lands," he said in a heavy accent. "Forbidden to all."

A mischievous smirk played on Alice and Ed's mouths.

"Hey, Ed?" she said, still looking at the fields.

"Yeah, A.J.?" he looked at the fields too.

"We shouldn't go in there…right?"

"Of course not…" they shared a look. "Race ya!"

They took off, too fast for the man to stop them.

"At least they've stopped arguing." Roy closed his eyes in irritation.

"But this is much worse…" Al said, he knew all too well what Ed and Alice getting along could lead to.

"Should we follow?" Armstrong asked.

"Definitely." Al started walking, an exhausted Roy and now shirtless Armstrong.

* * *

"I won!" Both teens exclaimed in unison. " _You_ won?" they looked at each other.

"Yeah right, Pipsqueak, I got longer legs!" Alice grinned.

"Liar, I'm still taller than you!" they butt heads until they heard a roar behind them, then they slowly turned around and saw a huge monster.

"Not now!" Alice rolled her eyes at Ed as he charged at the monster while transfiguring his automail into a sword.

The monster seemed to whimper in pain and run off. "Now, where were we?" Ed looked at her. "That's right, look." He pointed to a part of the grass that looked like it had been kicked up. "I tripped here, so that means I won."

"Because you tripped?" she said incredulously. "Maybe your height is affecting your brain."

"Say that again, Shorty, I think your hypocrisy got stuck in my ear." He said while sticking his pinky in his ear to emphasize his point.

Another roar sounded out, but this time it wasn't the smaller monster, no that monster was right by it…'it' being a monster so huge it dwarfed the other by comparison.

"Well, Ed, you sure made it mad." Alice said while inching away from him. "Don't you know not to mess with mama's babies?"

"I made it mad?" he glared at her.

"Alice, Edward!" Armstrong called out.

"What are you doing here?" they said simultaneously.

"We're here to save you." He said simply.

"Great thanks…" Alice started walking off.

Ed started slashing at the mother monster, but it made no dent. Armstrong tried to punch the monster, but it didn't do much.

"A little help?" Ed yelled as he blocked the monster's attack.

"Me?" Alice questioned.

"Yes you!"

"I'm not sure if I feel like It." she stretched out and yawned.

"Get up, A.J.!" Ed screamed.

"What's the magic word?" she said simply.

"Please?" he said as Armstrong got thrown above him.

" _And…_?"

"I'll buy you some candy when we get back!" part of his arm got chipped; Winry was going to kill him.

"That's what I wanted to hear." She said, just as Roy and Al ran up to them. She opened one eye and snapped her fingers, a wall of fire separated Armstrong and Ed from the Mother Monster, it squealed and ran off, its baby following suit.

"Remind you of someone?" Armstrong asked Roy once Ed and Al went up to Alice to ask how she learnt that.

"What do you mean?" Roy raised an eyebrow.

"The cockiness, the incredible power…" he trailed off.

Roy looked down at the ground.

"It's you when you were younger." Armstrong pointed out.

"I know," he looked up at Alice who was lapping up the praise from Al and Ed with a proud smirk. "She's something, huh?"

"Makes me sort of wish she was my illegitimate daughter." Armstrong sighed.

"Illegitimate?" Roy looked at him. "That makes it sound bad."

"Well, were you married when you were fifteen?" he asked with a fake innocence.

"N-No…" Roy looked back at Alice.

"Then, she's illegitimate." He nodded and crossed his arms. "But that doesn't make her any less your daughter." Roy smiled slightly when Ed stuck his foot out and tripped Alice, only to get a fist in the face. "You'll take care of her, won't you?"

Roy looked back to Armstrong, who looked serious. "Of course I will, she's all I have now."

"And I'm sure you're all she has too." Armstrong looked back to the three teens. "Besides those goofballs."

Roy blinked and frowned slightly. "I guess so," he hummed.

"Kind of makes you feel good to be needed like that, doesn't it?" Armstrong grinned. "I'm sure Hughes would say the same thing so I'll say it in his place; a child changes things."

"I don't know, I mean…she's pretty independent." Roy thought back to the times he tried to pay for her clothes or accommodations, but she refused stubbornly.

"That doesn't mean she doesn't need you."

Roy sighed and walked up to the three.

"Say that again!" Ed screeched.

"Brother, calm down, I'm sure she didn't mean it as a bad thing!" Al tried to comfort him but neither of the fighting teens seemed to have heard him.

"Say it!" Ed repeated.

"I said 'are you staying a midget forever'?" she smirked.

"I'll still be taller than you Short Stuff." He grinned.

Roy sighed again and grabbed the back of Alice's collar before she lunged. "Enough, you two," He said. "We should get back before sunset." Then he looked down and realized everything had gotten dark, the grass was burnt and the sky was darkened by smoke. "Alice?" he looked around, but no one was around. "Major Armstrong?"

Meanwhile, Alice watched Roy collapse and pull her down with him. "Roy!" she screamed but when she looked down he was gone. "Armstrong?" she looked up and saw he was gone too.

"Wha…what's going on?" she looked back, but Ed and Al were gone too. Then a shadow passed over and she slowly looked up. "Hello?" the sun was blocked out by this huge person. "Who's there?" she squinted so she could see his face better.

"Alice Green." he said in a booming voice. "It's your fault."

Her eyes widened, instinctively knowing what he meant. "No," she whispered. "I couldn't do anything, it's not my fault!"

"So you admit that you left her for dead?" he slowly started shrinking, but she still couldn't see his face from her place on the ground.

"Yes," she said blankly. "If it wasn't for me, she might still be alive…" she looked down at the ground.

"Then you would take her place in the underworld?" the voice asked.

She slowly nodded. "I would, if only…"

"Then join me, Sister." The voice had changed; the large man had shrunk down to a smaller height than she. Now his voice carried a childlike innocence, and his face had hollow Hazel eyes and light blonde hair, _Alphonse_ …no, this wasn't him, this was just a devil taking his form. "Join us here, and you can reunite with your loved ones." He held out a hand. "You'll never want again, never go hungry or be scared, never feel guilty or sad, come with me to paradise, Sister."

She started to reach out her hand, but then froze abruptly. "Ahh!" she cried out and clutched her aching head.

"Take my hand, Alice Green." The boy insisted. "Take it!"

"No, make it stop!" she opened her eyes and saw flashes of everyone she had met these past weeks, Riza, Hughes, Armstrong, and…Roy. Then she thought about Winry and Ed and…and Al… _Al_. she glared at the small boy in front of her. "No." she shook her head.

"Alice Green," he warned. "Don't you want to see your mother?" he shook his head back at her and dropped his hand. "Don't you want her forgiveness?"

"I know she's forgiven me, she loves me…" she smiled fondly. "I will not take your offer."

"Very well, Alice Green," he smiled back, but it never reached his empty eyes. "Then you are doomed to suffer your life until the day you are _destined_ to die…" then he smiled again but this time it seemed very amused. "And how soon will that be?" he raised an eyebrow. "Oh so soon…"

"What?" she asked, but there was no one there. "Wait, where am I?"

"You will be returned to the world of the living." The voice boomed again. "And you will regret not taking my hand."

Then she gasped as she bolted up, awake. "Oh, sorry, did I fall asleep there?" she laughed nervously but when she looked up she saw everyone collapsed on the ground, Armstrong and Roy behind her, and Ed face down in front of her. "Al?" she looked and saw the suit of armor sitting next to his brother.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed and rushed over to hug her. "I was so worried!"

"Alphonse," she cried and wrapped her arms as far as they'd go around his armor. "What happened?"

"I guess that's why this is called the Cursed Lands." He laughed weakly. "What did you see?"

"…You." She sighed and stepped back. "Except, it wasn't you…it was _something_ that took your form and tried to get me to make some sort of deal…" she trailed off in confusion. "It's like a dream, the more I try to remember the more I forget."

"They haven't woken up yet." Al looked at Ed. "I'm starting to get worried."

"The Underworld…" Alice's eyes widened as Al looked back at her. "You…or whatever it was wanted me to take his hand, he told me to join him in the Underworld." She knelt where Roy was. "He tried to compel me to agree, he took the form of my old friend," she looked back at Al. "And told me about a paradise, where my mother was, and I could ask forgiveness." She looked back down in shame. "I actually started to take his hand…"

"Forgiveness for what, Alice?" he asked.

She sighed and brushed some of her father's hair away from his face. "It's nothing…" she purposely avoided his eyes.

"I wonder what could tempt them…" Al said.

"Hello?" Roy started walking. "Show yourself!" he could feel a presence he couldn't quite describe, but it felt sinister.

"Roy Mustang," a familiar voice said. "It's good to see you again," Karen smiled.

"Karen…" he frowned. "But you're dead."

"I am," she looked down sadly. "A.J. told you that, didn't she?"

"Yes," he stepped closer. "She told me Karen Green was dead, but you're not her…"

"Clever boy." She grinned, and then she seemed to fade away. "But cleverness will only get you so far." He turned around and saw Alice smiling at him sweetly.

"Who are you?" he glared at her. "Where is everyone?"

"They are safe…in a way…" she trailed off and started circling him. "Why weren't you there for me when I needed you?" she pouted.

"What?" he narrowed his eyes.

"Daddy," she cocked her head and disappeared. "Why weren't you there for me?" he turned around again to see a much younger Alice, only about six or so, resembling Hughes' daughter.

"You can't play mind games with me." He shook his head stubbornly. "So don't try."

"Alright then…" she grinned, and turned back to the current Alice. "But my question stands."

"Karen didn't tell me she existed." He glared. "What's your point?"

She suddenly looked at her hand. "Oh, it would seem your daughter has refused my Brother's offer." She shook her head in disappointment. "So stubborn."

"Refused what?" he shouted in irritation.

But the fake Alice just sighed and rolled her eyes. "Roy Mustang, you should never have entered my lands."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to harvest your soul and eat it raw." She said blankly.

"Mom…" Ed whispered at the woman in front of him. "No," he shook his head. "Who are you?"

"What a clever bunch," she laughed that painfully familiar laugh. "But we've already lost one of you and the other doesn't seem to be normal, so we must gather the three we have left."

"Me, and who else?" he questioned. "Who did you lose?"

"The young Mustang girl." She shook her head, her brown hair falling loosely on her shoulders. "She's too willful; her soul would have been tasty though…" then she looked at Ed again. "Join us, and you can see your _real_ mother again." She smiled.

Ed blinked. "What do you mean?"

"This is the Underworld, Edward Elric, where do you think your mother went?"

He looked around. "The underworld eh?" he looked around at the blank walls; there was nothing in the room except him and this thing. "That's a lie isn't it?" he smirked at her, watching her eyebrows twitch.

"Now why would you say that, Ed?" she smiled sweetly, making his heart clench in familiarity.

"Stop it," he mumbled under his breath. "Stop being her…!" when he looked up he didn't see her anymore.

"Then who would you want me to be, Ed?" another familiar voice rang through the empty room, he slowly turned with wide eyes and came face to face with Winry. "Do you like this better?"

He stared at her. "Who are you?"

"Anyone you want me to be." she smiled. "Do you want to see your mother again, answer truthfully mind you, it's just a question."

"…Yes." He said after a long pause.

"Then-" she started with a smile but he cut her off.

"But that's not going to happen." He glared. "That's never going to happen again."

"If you take my hand, it will." She extended a hand. "What do you say, Ed?" she smiled. "Winry will follow you, and your brother. All will eventually, even that stubborn Alice, so please Ed, do it for your mother."

He blinked and saw his hand rise on its own accord. "No, wait…" he used his automail arm to keep his good arm at bay. "I refuse." He said quietly, using most of his strength to hold his arm, she just glowered at him. "I refuse!" he shouted, his voice echoing off the walls.

And suddenly he bolted awake, greeted by the sight of Alice kneeling in front of an unconscious Roy and Al sitting beside her. "Have I been forgotten?" he smirked and both their head whipped around.

"Brother!" Al jumped on him, inadvertently crushing Ed under his weight. "You didn't give in!"

"Ed," Alice cried tears of joy and threw herself on him after Al had gotten up. "You're okay!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He waved it off. "Are they though?" he pointed at Roy and Armstrong.

"I'm not sure…" Alice lowered her head.

"Must I do everything myself?" the fake Alice groaned. "Even the short one has escaped."

"Edward?" Roy frowned. "Then they're all okay, Major Armstrong can pull through this." He grinned. "I'll have to leave now, I'm sure my daughter's worried."

She suddenly extended an arm. "We don't have time for this," she growled. "Take my hand, Colonel, and paradise awaits you." She smirked. "All the women wearing mini-skirts, people respect you as their leader, and nobody outranks you in power or attractiveness."

He raised an eyebrow. "That sounds tempting, but I'll have to decline."

"Do you really want for nothing?" Fake Alice frowned. "Your daughter will die soon, and you will not get this chance to await her in the underworld again."

"Alice won't die." He scoffed. "She's much too stubborn, you said it yourself."

"But she will, Roy Mustang." She smirked. "Oh but she will… and you will live the rest of your life without her, knowing you had a chance to die before her."

"Release me." He ordered casually, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Very well, but do not say I didn't warn you."

He opened his eyes and saw the real Alice looking down at him with wide eyes.

"R-Roy?" she smiled.

He sat up and hugged her. "I just gave up paradise for you, so don't die." He mumbled drowsily.

"What?" she looked at him. "What did you say?"

"I said…don't…" he plopped back on the ground asleep.

"Was he captured again?" Al asked.

"Nah, look," Ed poked Roy's face with a nearby stick. "He's dreaming."

"It must take a bigger toll on adults…" Alice sighed. "Now all that's left is-" she looked over and saw Armstrong looking at them with open eyes. "W-When did you wake up?" she exclaimed.

"A few minutes ago." He explained. "That was a lovely father/daughter moment."

"So who did you see?" Ed asked.

Armstrong seemed to think hard about this. "It was a beautiful woman, long legs and long dark hair." He sighed dreamily and he seemed to sparkle. "She said she was not like her brother's, to pick a painfully familiar form to intimidate them, she picked a beautiful woman from my memory, whom I must have passed the street."

"How nice of her…" Alice said airily. "I suggest we leave the 'Cursed Lands' before something else happens."

"Yes, Colonel Mustang…" Ed mumbled teasingly, earning a glare from the girl.

"Major Armstrong, can you carry Roy until we get to the town?" she turned to the large man.

He picked Roy up like a ragdoll and started walking without a word. "If it takes a toll on adults, shouldn't he be tired?" Al asked.

Alice shrugged casually. "But its Major Armstrong, he'll probably sleep like a log on the train ride home."

"That is true…" Ed nodded and they started to follow Armstrong.

"Hey, Al?" Alice looked up to the suit of armor.

"Yeah?" he looked back at her.

"Can I ride on your back?" she pointed up to him.

"W-What?" he asked but she was already climbing up on him.

"Hey, Al's not a mode of transportation." Ed ground out.

"But I'm _tired_." She whined and wrapped her arms around Al's neck. "You just wish you would have thought of it first, 'sides, Al doesn't care, do you Al?" she looked at him.

But Al didn't answer, he was suddenly struck with a dreadful feeling, he couldn't feel her…no matter what, he couldn't feel anything.

"Al?" Ed's voice broke through his thoughts. "What is it?" he tilted his head in concern. "See what you did, A.J. you made him sad."

"W-What." she tensed. "I-I'm sorry Al, I'll get down."

"No, it's fine." He sighed. "I was just thinking about something…"

"Do you want me off?" she asked and leaned in so he could see her face, it was filled with concern and a tinge of guilt that made something inside his soul move.

"No, you're fine." She smiled in relief and laid her head in his metal shoulder.

"Then, if you don't mind, I'm going to sleep." She closed her eyes.

"Hey, you can't go to sleep!" Ed yelled.

"Watch me…" she mumbled sleepily.

Ed growled in annoyance. "The twerp…" he grumbled. Al started chuckling and it drew his brother's attention. "What?"

"You two really get along, don't you?" he asked.

"What?" he asked incredulously. "You must be going crazy, Al." he said.

* * *

 **I know, I know...weird place to end it, but would you rather a cliff hanger for forever?**

 **Yep, I'm going to update all my stories over the next few days and then go on a break until around summer vacation! Sorry...**

 **Special thanks to: Natasha and Guest for their reviews!**

 **If you want to know the reason I'm going on a break is because I'm behind in a few things and need to catch up!**

 **Again, sorry.**


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